Blowing the whistle on racism cut short my professional journey - Luther Burrell

Warning: This piece contains details of discriminatory comments and conduct

Ex-England player Luther Burrell claims that speaking out to expose racial discrimination in professional rugby led his career to an early conclusion.

In a June 2022, Burrell described racism as being "widespread" in the sport, displaying digital communications and recalling training ground "comments" he had been subject to while representing Newcastle.

Then 34 and without a team, Burrell's only elite playing since has been a handful of games with invitational side the Barbarians.

"I've have definitely had to retire because of what happened," he explained to reporters.

"I wanted to carry on playing, naturally I did. I sought that, and it fell through when word came out that there were inquiries going on.

"This situation was difficult - I had to just come to terms with the outcome and accept that this whole process is a lot more important than me."

A rugby governing body investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's allegations were accurate "on the balance of probability", but said it could not collect sufficient evidence to categorically say they occurred at Newcastle.

Burrell told journalists he also faced prejudice within the England set-up, during a Test career that saw him win 15 caps after his first game in February 2014.

"I've had several traumatic experiences within the national team," he stated.

"Some discrimination and some just old-school mentality that's really inappropriate."

Racism had become normalised in team environments, in Burrell's view.

"This is something that has been dressed up as humour and that's been the problem that I've personally suffered and seen," said Burrell, who is of Jamaican heritage.

"Over a extended period you just learn to believe that it's the standard and that is acceptable and that it's not harmful, but that's nonsense."

Burrell says he was finally spurred to go public after a team-mate at Newcastle referred to him as a "slave" and told him to put sunscreen on his arms and legs "where your shackles were."

The governing body said Burrell's disclosures had led to "increased scrutiny at the environment within the elite game and to the implementation of an action plan for the elite level."

"We has placed significant attention on inclusion and inclusion in rugby union and a great deal of work completed both prior and after Luther Burrell spoke publicly and revealed his experiences of racism and classism," it continued.

"The organization are ongoing work with teams and partners in the elite level to work for a culture of inclusivity but recognize this requires patience and is an ongoing process."

All Prem and women's rugby club now has face-to-face training on building welcoming cultures, with its success monitored via specific documentation and surveys.

All England athletes, including youth squads, are educated in being "active bystanders" to intervene and protect others from damaging behaviour.

"You should be so proud of what you have done," Burrell's mother Joyce told him as part of the film about his experiences.

"We know it has had this effect on you and finished your playing days, but in our view, you have done so well. We are so impressed of you and to have you as a family member."

Burrell's father Geoff passed away shortly after the production of the documentary, and his sister passed away recently.

Burrell, who grew up on a social housing in his hometown, maintains his work to make the sport more open.

His 12 Foundation works to reach young people in under-served communities and help them succeed both on the pitch with free sports coaching, guidance and nutrition education.

"My personal intentions are genuine, I want to see the progress of the game and if nobody else is prepared to tell their story then I'll persist to fight that cause because I'm not just doing this for my own benefit," he explained.

"We have an obligation to make the game as great as it can be and the more I talk about it hopefully the more confident fellow players will become about sharing their own stories as well.

"I need to take the challenge by the horns and keep carrying this banner and continue carrying this responsibility and do what I can to develop opportunities and make the game more attractive and more inclusive.

"There are a lot of underprivileged children and a lot of economic hardship and I honestly think that rugby has the ability to change their lives, just as it transformed things for me."